The final score-line might be slightly flattering but Real Madrid won’t care. At the end of the ninety minutes in their game against Sevilla at the Bernabeu, the scoreboard read 4-1 and they had all three points in the bag with just two more wins separating them from being crowned champions of La Liga for the first time since 2012.
Real took an early lead through Nacho Fernandez’s quick free-kick which could have possibly been disallowed. Sevilla fought back and could have equalised as Jovetic’s strike smashed against the crossbar. Madrid soon took advantage of the mishap and Cristiano Ronaldo’s easy tap-in made it 2-0 going into half time.
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Sevilla came out fighting early in the second half and Stevan Jovetic got a well-deserved goal to make it 2-1, swinging the momentum Sevilla’s way. However, they were unable to take advantage of Madrid’s weaknesses and a fantastic weak-footed finish from Ronaldo and a goal from Kroos made it a comfortable victory in the end.
Here we look at the player ratings from the match.
Real Madrid
Keylor Navas – 8/10
Had a very busy game in goal surprisingly, but Navas made a great one on one save where it looked inevitable that Jovetic would score and made several other good stops.
Danilo – 5/10
Danilo did not offer an awful lot going forward, got booked, and certainly struggled defensively. He allowed Vitolo and Correa a lot of joy as they often swapped positions. Madrid will be eagerly awaiting the return of Daniel Carvajal.
Sergio Ramos – 6/10
Ramos certainly didn’t have one of his better games in the centre of defence as Jovetic gave him lots of problems with his sharp movement.
Raphael Varane – 6/10
Found it hard to handle Jovetic’s movement and his partnership with Ramos did not seem particularly strong throughout the game, but it did get better in the second half.
Nacho – 7/10
Showed great initiative to score a quick free-kick and slotted in very well at full back in place of Marcelo.
Toni Kroos – 7/10
Similarly to N’zonzi, he helps Real Madrid tick and has great passing ability. Set up the third and scored the fourth in an accomplished performance.
Mateo Kovacic – 6/10
The Croatian worked well alongside Toni Kroos and did well to transition the ball quickly on the counter attack but the play sometimes bypassed him, allowing Sevilla in behind on numerous occasions.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 9/10
Part of an extremely quick front line which counter-attacked with venomous pace. He was ready to pounce and got his rewards for his first goal. Was seemingly having little involvement in the second half until he finished with a magnificent left-footed finish.
James Rodriguez – 7/10
His great decision making made the second goal possible as his feint and shot put it on a plate for Ronaldo to make it 2-0. Looked creative and sharp as Madrid looked to create on the counter attack
Marco Asensio – 7/10
Asensio has magical feet which makes him so hard to tackle and his dribbling earned the free-kick which Nacho turned home. It was a great all-round performance from the youngster.
Alvaro Morata – 5/10
Morata struggled to have any impact in the game as Ronaldo, James and Asensio stole the show as he was booked out of frustration too. Poor afternoon overall.
Substitutions
Lucas Vazquez – 6/10
Offered a similar attacking threat to Rodriguez and was involved in some build up to the final two goals.
Casemiro – 6/10
Casemiro coming on helped cool Sevilla’s joy through the midfield, as Kovacic was not doing enough defensively.
Luka Modric – 6/10
It was no surprise that Madrid got better once Modric came on. He is so crucial to Real Madrid playing well.
Sevilla
Sergio Rico – 6/10
The goalkeeper could do little about any of the goals, with him not even realising the first one was coming.
Gabriel Mercado – 4/10
Asensio and Rodriguez gave the full-back fits as they interchanged flanks. Vazquez then came off the bench, to give him more trouble. He moved into a back three later in the game but didn't get much joy in that position either.
Nico Pareja – 4/10
Pareja struggled immensely to deal with the Madrid front line. He was subbed off at half time in an attacking substitution as the team moved to a back three.
Daniel Carrico – 5/10
Carrico had a quiet afternoon for most of the game, but when it mattered he struggled to deal with the attacking Real Madrid threat. Dealt with Morata well on occasions but Ronaldo proved to be too much for the centre back.
Clement Lenglet – 4/10
There were lots of problems for the full back as Rodriguez and Asensio made it a tough evening.
Steven N’zonzi – 6/10
The whole Sevilla team outpassed Madrid all game and N’zonzi is the man who helped that happen. He is an extremely important player in the Sevilla side.
Matias Kranevitter – 5/10
Kranevitter worked well in the first half alongside N’zonzi, but the second half proved much tougher for the midfielder.
Angel Correa – 7/10
The youngster looks very creative in attack and was offering a great outlet. Sadly, the game almost went dead for Sevilla in the second half, which made it harder for him despite getting an assist for Jovetic’s goal.
Michael Krohn-Delhi – 6/10
In place of Samir Nasri, Krohn-Deli tried his best to create chances but most of the pressure in Sevilla’s attack came through Correa, Vitolo and Jovetic.
Vitolo – 6 /10
Vitolo offered a great outlet and gave Danilo numerous problems down the left-hand side but had no influence in the second half whatsoever.
Stevan Jovetic – 8/10
His outstanding movement gave Madrid all sorts of problems. He hit the bar twice and forced Navas into a great save. In the second half he finally got his goal and he was Sevilla’s best performer by a distance.
Substitutions:
Walter Montoya – 5/10
Despite it seeming like he had a whole half to have an impact, his team did not offer a lot going forward. He, therefore, struggled to have an emphasis on the match, especially in attack.
Wissam Ben Yedder – N/A
Came on with a single minute to play.
Diego Gonzalez Polanco – N/A
Similarly to Ben Yedder, there was one minute left when he came on.
